Hosiery mending device



Nov. 7, 1939.

A. G. Excl-HOLZ i HosIERY MENDING DEVICE Filed April 14, 1938 2sheets-sheet 2 @rented Nev. 7, 1939 UNITE-D STATES PATENT OFFICEAHOSIERY MENDING DEVICE Application April 14, 1938, Serial No. 202,002

` Claims.

This invention relates to hosiery mending devices. In hosiery and otherknitted fabric, runs of the looped threads.

Among the objects of the invention is the provision of a device having alooping needle extending upwardly and having a support for holding thefabric to be mended in proper position above said needle with thestraightened loops or cross threads disposed horizontally andtransversely of the hook of said needle, said fabric being movablelongitudinally of the run in a direction toward said hook and saidneedle being operable in a vertical plane progressively to engage andloop the released cross threads.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device comprising aportable stand, means carried by said vstand for supporting the fabricin a horizontal taut position, a looping needle operably mounted in saidstand for reciprocating movement in a Vvertical plane past said fabric,successively to engage and loop each transverse thread of a run, and aresilient finger operatively mounted adjacent to the hook end of saidneedle for closing the hook at each downward movement and releasing thepreviously looped thread. y

Another object of the invention is to provide a reciprocating needlehaving its upper end terminating in a hook adapted to engage and loop atransverse thread of a run, and a reciprocating member operable incorrelation with said needle and provided at its end with a resilientiinger for closing the hookof said needle and releasing the loopedthread from the shanir.` oi said needle, and means for operating saidneedle and said member in correlation with each other.

Additional objects of the invention are to provide a portable hosierymending device which is of simple construction and can be manuallyoperated to operate a ,looping needle and a releasing member incorrelation with each other and in a plane at right angle to the planeof the fabric to be mended. l

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in certainnovel features of construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter morefully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my device.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of same..

Figure 3 is an enlarged side view oi the upper (Cl. (i6-1.5)

end of the needle showing the hook in its uppermost position.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail cross section of the operating mechanismshowing the needle bar in raised position. y

Figure 5 is a front elevational view of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a front elevational view of the parts shown in Figure 4. .f

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the hook end of theneedle in lowermost position, and the resilient finger in hook-closingposition. l`

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing the mechanism inmoved position.

Figure 9 is an enlarged detail view, partly in cross section, of theneedle bar and vthe resilient linger bar.

Figure 10 is an enlarged horizontal cross section taken on line I0|0 ofFigure l.

Figure 11 is a horizontal cross section taken on line -i I-ll of Figure4.

Figure 12 is an enlarged detail cross section of the needle bar and theclosing member bar.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, lil indicates astand in the form of a cylindrical housing, the lower end Ill .of whichis removable to provide access to the interior of said housing.Extending upwardly from said housing is an arm |12, the lower end ofwhich is iixed to the housing in any suitable manner. vIf desired, armit can be formed integral with said housing. This arm is comparativelythin but is of substantial width to obtain the required rigidltv. i

Revolubly mounted in the upper end of said arm is a horizontallydisposed pin lil and xed to each end of said pin is a roller support l5.These rollers are spaced apart by the thickness of arm i2 and aretherefore in close proximity to each other. Preferably these rollershave their peripheries curved and the outer ends reduced in diameter sothat each roller is' in the shape of a truncated semisphere. The purposeof these rollers is to provide a support for the stocking to be mended,the run in the stocking being disposed above and in alignment with thespace between said rollers. A

A vertically disposed needle bar i6 is slidably mounted in a groove ilformed in one side of arm i2. A plate i8 closes said groove and holdssaid needle bar in place. 'preferably the full length of said arm and isdisposed to one side of pin N so that the needle bar clears said pin, asshown in Figure l. The upper end of bar I6 projects above the upper endof This groove extends arm I2 and terminates in a hook |9 presentedforwardly to the pin III. Groove I I and bar I6 are preferablyrectangular in cross section so as to maintain said bar I6 and hook I9in proper position at all times.

This bar I6 is hollow, as indicated at I6a, and is provided with anopening 20 near the upper or hook end I9. Slidably mounted in the grooveI6a of bar I6 is a bar 2|, the upper end of which has xed thereto orterminates in a leaf spring finger or resilient member 22. Bars I6 and2| are movable relatively to each other so that when bar I6 is in adepressed position bar 2| is raised sufficiently to project nger 22through opening D 20 and bring it against said hook I 9 so as to closethe same.

Bars I6 and 2| are actuated, respectively, by`

cams 25 and 26 which are xed to a shaft 21 horizontally mounted inbearings 28 of casing IIJ. One end of this shaft extends outwardly fromsaid casing and can be operated either manually or mechanically. Asshown in the drawings, a hand wheel 29 is xed on said projecting end formanual operation of said shaft.

The lower ends of bars I6 and 2| extend into said casing I and bar I6 isprovided with a lateral .projection 30 which overlies and rests upon cam25, while bar 2| is provided with a lateral projection 3| which overliesand rests upon cam 26. A coiled expansion spring 32 is interposedbetween projection 30 and the top wall of the casing and serves to holdsaid projection 30 downwardly against the peripheral face of cam 25,thereby urging the needle bar I6 into depressed position. A similarspring 33 bears against the projection 3| and the top wall of saidcasing and serves to hold said projection against the peripheral face ofcam 26 and urge the closure bar'2I into a depressed position.

Cams 25 and 26 are mounted in a substantially reverse relation to eachother so that when one cam occupies `raised position the other cam ispresented in an opposite direction. Thus when cam .25 has its high pointpresented upwardly to raise the needle I9 above the peripheries ofrevoluble supports or rollers I and the fabric supported thereon, thehigh point of cam 26 is presented downwardly (see Figs. 3 and 4).

When theshaft 2 is actuated to bring the high point ofl cam 25downwardly, cam 26 is presented upwardly, as shown in Figure 8. In thisposition the hook or needle` I9 is depressed below the peripheries ofthe roller supports I5 and the fabricr supported thereon and the bar 2|is raised to project the spring member 22 outwardly through opening intoengagement with hook I9 and close the same, as shown in Figure 7.

In using the device the stocking is placed on the support members I5with the run presented in alignment with the space between said supportsand toward the hook VI9. The fabric is held taut on said supports withthe left hand, while the wheel 29 is turned with the right hand tooperate the device. Preferably the bar I6 occupies its uppermostposition. In positioning the fabric on the support. The-hook I9 isforced through the fabric adjacent to the end of the run through thelast loop. The bar I6 is now moved downwardly with the hook- I9 engagingand-'pulling downward said loop. On the upward movement of the bar I6the loop portion slips over the shank portion of the hook past theopening 20. When the hook I9 again occupies its upward position thesupports I5 are slightly turned to bring the first released loop orstraight transverse thread under said hook. On the downward movement ofbar I6, hook I9 engages said straight portion and pulls it downward.After the hook I9 moves below the fabric bar 2| moves upward andprojects the resilient nger 22 through opening 20 into closingengagement with hook I9.v The previously looped portion which occupiedposition on the shank of the hook is released from bar I6 and movesupward to its normal position, thereby being locked by the loop portionheld by the hook I9. On the next upward movement of the hook thelast-mentioned looped portion is moved over the shank past opening 20and suports I5 are again turned to bring the next straight thread underthe hook I9. The operation is repeated, each straight or released threadportion being successively looped and then released over the next loopedportion until the entire run is mended. When the end of the run isreached, where the tear occurred which started the run, the torn portionis repaired with a thread and needle and the last looped portion isengaged by the thread and worked or sewed in to lock said loop andprevent recurrence of the run. Thus the run can be efficiently andquickly repaired. The work is held on the supports I5 by hand and thedevice is resting on a table or other stationary support. The hook isautomatically operated by the manual operation of shaft 21 and as saidhook operates upwardly through the fabric, the work can be watched withease. The looped thread is automatically released from the hook overeach succeeding loop and locked by the latter.

The device is portable and light in weight. It can be economicallymanufactured and is very easy to operate.

While I have disclosed herein the preferred form of my device, it is tobe understood that my invention is not limited to the particularconstruction herein shown and described, as the same may be variouslymodified without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A device for mending knitted fabric comprising a portable base, anupward extension thereon, v

a reciprocating needle bar mounted in said extension for movement in avertical plane, a hook at the upper end of said bar, a reciprocatingrelease bar mounted in said extension for move,- ment in a verticalplane and operable in correlation with said needle bar, and a resilientfinger fixed on the upper end of said release bari and adapted to engageand close said hook.

2. A device for mending hosiery comprising a portable stand, an upwardextension thereon, a vertically disposed reciprocating needle barmounted in said extension, a looping hook at the upper end of said bar,a reciprocating release bar mounted in said extension formovement in avertical plane, a resilient finger fixed on the upper end of said barand adapted to close said looping hook upon the downward movementthereof, and means in said stand for operating said needle bar and saidrelease bar in correlation with each other.

3. A device for mending runs in knitted fabric comprising a hollowportable base, an upward' extension xed thereon, a support mounted onthe upper end of said 'extension for supporting the fabric, said supportbeing formed in two spaced sections, a reciprocating hook needleoperatively mounted in said extension and movable upwardly throughbetween said sections for engaging a transverse straight thread of a runand loop said thread downwardly below the plane of said fabric, andresilient finger operatively y mounted in said extension and operableinto clostitl ing engagement with the hook end of said needle on thedownward movement thereof to release the4 previously looped threadlocated on the shank of said needle over the looped thread held by saidhook. l

4. A device for mending runs in knitted fabric comprising a hollowportable base, an upward extension xed thereon, a support mounted on theupper end of said extension for supporting the fabric, said supportbeing formed in two spaced sections, a vertically disposed reciprocatingneedle operatively mounted in said extension and having a hook on theupper end for engaging a transverse straight thread of said fabric andlooping it below said support, a resilient finger operatively mounted insaid extension and adapted to engage and close said hook on the downwardmovement thereof, whereby the previously looped thread positioned on theshank of said needle is released over the looped thread held by saidhook, and manually operable means in said base for actuating said needleand said finger.

5. A device for mending runs in knitted fabric comprising a vportablehollow base, an upward extension on said base, a support mounted on theupper end of said extension,v said support being formed in two spacedsections adapted to support the fabric to be mended, a verticallydisposed reciprocating needle bar operatively mounted in said extensionand projecting into said base and having a hook on the upper end forengaging a transverse straight threadl of said fabric and looping itbelow said support, a resilient finger bar operatively mounted in saidextension and extending into said base, a resilient finger xed on theupper end of said bar, and adapted to engage and close said hook on thedownward movement thereof, whereby the previously looped threadpositioned on the shank of said needle is released over the loopedthread held by said hook, and means in said base for engaging theprojecting ends of said bars and actuating said needle and saidresilient finger in correlation with each other.

6. A device for mending knitted fabric comprising a support for thefabric to be mended, said support being provided with an opening, avertically disposed reciprocating needle operatively mounted below saidsupport and having a hook on the upper end for engaging a transversestraight thread'of said fabric and looping 'it below said support, aresilient nger operatively mounted below said support and adapted toengage and close said hook on the downward movement thereof, whereby thepreviously looped thread positioned on the shank of said needle isreleased over the looped thread held by said hook, means for actuatingsaid needle and said resilient finger in correlation with each other,

said means.'

transverse straight thread of said fabric and looping it below theperipheries of said rollers, a resilient finger operatively mountedbetween said rollers and below the periphery thereof and adapted toengage and close said hook on the downward movement thereof to allow thepreviously looped thread to be released from said needle, and manuallyoperable means for actuating said needle and said resilient finger.

8. A device for mending knitted fabric comprising a pair of rollers forsupporting said fabric, a verticallyu disposed reciprocating needleoperatively mounted below said rollers and having a hook on its upperend for engaging a transverse straight thread of said fabric and loopingit below the peripheries of said rollers, a resilient finger operativelymounted between said rollers and below the periphery thereof and adaptedto engage and close said hook on the downward 'movement thereof to allowthe previously looped to support said fabric, a needle bar slidably imounted in said arm and having a hook at its upper end, said needle barbeing movable in a vertical plane through said fabric, a closure barslidably mounted in said arm for movement parallel with said needle barand having a flexible upper end adapted to close the hook of said needlebar and release the previously looped thread from the shank of said hookover the looped thread engaged by said hook, spring means for yieldablyforcing each bar downwardly, and manually operable means for actuatingeach bar upwardly.

l0. A device for mending knitted fabric comprising a stationary arm, apair of horizontally disposed rollers revolubly mounted on said arm inspaced relation with each other and adapted to support said fabric, aneedle bar slidably mounted in said arm and having a hook at its upperend, said needle bar being movable in a vertical plane through saidfabric, a closure bar slidably mounted in said arm for movement parallelwith said needle bar and having a flexible upper end adapted to closethe hook of said needle bar and release the previously looped threadfrom the shank of said hook over the looped thread engaged by said hook,and manually operable means for actuating said needle bar and saidclosure bar in time relation with each other.

AUGUST G. EICHHOLZ.

